Consumption trends across customer groups
Romanian electricity consumption declined by 4% in the first eight months of 2026, according to data published by the National Institute for Statistics. Total electricity use reached 32.02 TWh between January and August, compared with a higher level in the same period of 2025. The demand fall was not uniform across all segments.
Household electricity consumption dropped 11.3% to 7.09 TWh. Electricity used for public lighting fell 14.2% to approximately 218.5 GWh. Industrial electricity demand decreased by 1.6%, reaching 24.71 TWh.
Generation mix shifts toward renewables
Electricity production moved in the opposite direction to consumption over the same period. Romania generated 34.34 TWh, up 3.1% year on year, supported by higher hydroelectric, wind and solar output. Hydropower generation increased 13.5% to 9.17 TWh.
Wind production rose 9% to 4.10 TWh. Solar generation recorded the strongest growth, including prosumer installations, with output up 47.9% to 5.17 TWh. This increase reflected a larger role for distributed and utility-scale solar in Romania’s national electricity balance.
Thermal and nuclear output declines
Traditional generation recorded weaker results during January-August 2026. Thermal power production fell 5.1% to 10.34 TWh. Output from the Cernavodă nuclear power plant declined by 21.5%, reaching 5.56 TWh.
The changes in the generation structure were reflected in cross-border electricity flows during the eight-month period.
Trade balance improves as exports rise
Romanian electricity exports increased by 12.4% to 10.51 TWh. Imports declined by 6.3% to 11.82 TWh. As a result, the gap between imports and exports narrowed to approximately 1.31 TWh, although Romania remained a net importer over the period.
